The departure of Egypt’s flamboyant head of antiquities, Zahi Hawass, last July, followed by the naming of seven different successors to the joint posts he held, has left Egyptology leaderless following the political revolution that overtook the country in January last year.
Hawass, with his dominant personality, was recognised internationally as the undisputed leader of Egypt’s antiquities, although he was highly controversial. He headed the Supreme Council of Antiquities from 2002 and was also appointed minister of antiquities by Hosni Mubarak on 31 January 2011, just 11 days before the Egyptian president was toppled.
Despite his links with the Mubarak regime, Hawass remained a minister in the military government until his resignation on 5 March last year. He stepped down for two reasons: he believed that the army had stopped guarding archaeological sites, and he had been accused of illegal activities, of which he was subsequently cleared.
Alaa el-din Shaheen, an archaeologist at Cairo University, was named as Hawass’s successor as minister, but his appointment was not confirmed; then Hawass was reappointed on 30 March. On 17 July, Hawass left for a second time after he came under pressure from the transitional government. It proposed that Abdel Fattah al-Banna, a conservator, should succeed him, but the secretariat of the supreme council opposed the appointment.
This was followed by a five-month hiatus with no antiquities minister. The Supreme Council of Antiquities effectively took over the leadership, although this situation has not been formalised.
The transitional government finally appointed Mohamed Ibrahim Ali, an Egyptologist at Ain Shams University, as minister of antiquities on 7 December. He remains in the post.
Beneath the minister, the other key post is secretary-general of the supreme council. Hawass retained this position when he became minister in January 2011, but after his first resignation, it passed to a council official, Sabry Abdel Aziz. After returning as minister, Hawass named Mohamed Abdel Maksood, a museum specialist, as the head of the supreme council in early June. Hawass fell from power the following month.
On 18 August, Mohamed Abdel Fattah, another museum specialist, was appointed as secretary-general. He remained in post for just one month, until 20 September. Nine days later, he was replaced by Mostafa Amin, who still holds the position.
There have also been changes at the country’s leading museum. Tarek El Awady replaced Wafaa el-Sadiq as the director of the Egyptian Museum in central Cairo in January 2011, just a few days before the political turmoil that led to the looting of the museum on 29 January (54 objects were stolen, only half of which have so far been recovered). El Awady is now leaving, and his successor has yet to be named.
Last month, Hawass said it would not be fair for him to comment on his successors. He is busy “publishing my excavation reports and lecturing”, and is also finishing a book on antiquities and the 2011 revolution.
Chris Naunton, the director of the London-based Egypt Exploration Society, says that European Egyptologists have maintained links with their colleagues, working via officials in Cairo.
Instability in the Egyptian archaeological leadership is having a damaging impact, however, particularly as income from tourism has plummeted. The next major task is to complete the Grand Egyptian Museum, near the Pyramids, which is due to open in 2015.
Originally appeared in The Art Newspaper as ‘Egyptian archaeology is in turmoil'